The lights of the skyscrapers shone like an inverted river of stars, illuminating the veins of Tokyo.
From the neon glow of Roppongi to the radiance of Ginza, every beam of light told a story of the city's vitality and rhythm. Amid this brilliance, crowds flowed like thin streams, drifting slowly through streets and alleyways.
Yet behind the prosperity, darkness still hid in narrow back alleys.
A man fled in panic, terror written all over his face, as if a demon were chasing him from behind.
At last, his footsteps stopped. Despair filled his eyes—he had run into a dead end.
Sometimes, desperation gives birth to courage. Gritting his teeth, he produced a handgun in his left hand and a dagger in his right, awkwardly crossing the two weapons as he stared fixedly at the man emerging from the darkness.
"Why are you coming after me?! I didn't do anything! I don't know anything!"
The Explorer known in the space as Little Yaksha shouted hysterically.
"Don't come any closer! No matter how fast you are, you're not faster than a bullet!"
In the night sky, dark clouds drifted away, and moonlight fell upon the figure standing in the shadows.
It was a young man dressed casually, about 180 centimeters tall. He had waterfall-like long hair and a face so handsome it could make women jealous.
Yet the bulging muscle lines beneath his clothes told another story—of his gender, and of his strength.
The youth's mental state seemed unstable. His once-beautiful face twisted as he spoke.
"It was you… it was you people who stole away my beloved god… it was you! Ah… without my god, how am I supposed to face this miserable world?"
"K-Kiryu Setsuna, listen to me!"
Little Yaksha was drenched in cold sweat.
"I don't know where you got this information from, but I'm just an ordinary fighter! Tokita Ohma's death has nothing to do with me!"
He knew exactly why he was being hunted.
The man before him was Kiryu Setsuna—the obsessive, deranged stalker from the original story who had fixated on Tokita Ohma. His mind was twisted, but his strength was just as monstrous. With Ohma dead, his madness had only deepened.
In his heart, Little Yaksha cursed the bastard who had killed Tokita Ohma ten thousand times over—but that did nothing to resolve his current predicament.
He himself was a level-7 Explorer, with a superhuman physique compared to the fighters of this world. Yet in a single brief exchange earlier, the skin on his chest—along with his ribs—had been twisted into a vortex by Kiryu's Rakshasa's Palm.
"Ohma… don't worry. I'll tear the one who killed you into pieces, and then I'll climax in the ecstasy of avenging you."
Kiryu Setsuna hugged himself, his face flushed crimson, and stepped toward Little Yaksha.
"Damn it, you sick freak!"
Little Yaksha fired his gun and charged forward with the dagger.
After the gunshot rang out, Kiryu Setsuna and Little Yaksha passed by each other.
Little Yaksha's entire neck twisted backward. His body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Kiryu Setsuna stood over the corpse, gazing up at the moon.
"Ah~ Ohma…"
...
On a training ground filled with wooden posts, two figures flashed past each other at extreme speed. The sounds of fists and kicks colliding echoed endlessly.
After another clash, the two separated and landed atop separate wooden posts.
The figure on the right had purple skin, veins bulging into lightning-like demonic patterns. His face wore an expression of frenzied battle lust.
"Kurosaki Rei—come on! Keep going!"
This man, whose facial expressions rivaled abstract art, was none other than the Wu Clan's genius—Wu Raian.
Standing opposite him was, naturally, Kurosaki Rei.
Kurosaki Rei was bare-chested now. His skin looked subtly different from normal—his output had increased, his muscles visibly swelling, dark-purple veins crawling across his body like lightning cutting through a pale sky.
He, too, was using the Wu Clan's secret art—Release.
However, the effect was clearly different from Raian's. His entire body didn't "change color"; only the areas where blood surged rapidly—his veins—took on that abnormal hue.
Even Wu Hui Li'ang had said this was the first time he'd ever seen such a form of Release. Kurosaki Rei guessed it had something to do with his physique—and also with the fact that his Release rate wasn't very high.
It was already Kurosaki Rei's fifth day with the Wu Clan.
The exchange had gone smoothly. He had given Wu Hui Li'ang the training method for Armament Haki, and in return, the clan had taught him Release.
This secret art truly lived up to its reputation. Even for Kurosaki Rei, it took two full days to grasp it. During that time, he'd asked both Wu Raian and Karura for guidance.
To be precise, it was mostly Karura who taught him.
Raian, the hot-tempered brute, had zero patience for teaching. Karura, on the other hand, was more than happy to instruct—and being an honor student at school, she was actually quite a good teacher.
Her only flaw was that during explanations, she'd frequently strip off her clothes and suggest moving the "lesson" to the bedroom.
As for that problem-child's advances—Kurosaki Rei had defended against every single one.
"Let's stop here for today. You've made real progress," Kurosaki Rei said as he jumped down from the wooden post and deactivated Release, returning to normal.
"Rest a bit. Recall that feeling just now—learn to capture the points of power. Don't rely only on your eyes."
Outside the training ground, Karura came jogging over and handed him a towel and water.
"Kurosaki Rei, let's make babies!"
Kurosaki Rei felt a headache coming on. He was starting to think he couldn't stay with the Wu Clan much longer—otherwise, something bad was bound to happen.
"It's only been a few days. How much Release can you manage now?"
Raian asked bluntly.
He snatched a bottle of water from Karura and chugged it down, earning a glare from her.
Kurosaki Rei and Raian sat on a bench by the training ground, wiping off sweat.
"About twenty percent," Kurosaki Rei replied.
"I'm not one of your clan members. That's probably my limit for now."
"Tch. That really pisses me off. One day I'll kill you."
Raian looked extremely displeased.
Kurosaki Rei mastering Release had shocked the Wu Clan. Even in the main family, this secret art was taught from childhood, taking years before one could use it properly.
The prodigy Raian had taken four months to learn it. Karura had taken five.
And yet Kurosaki Rei—an outsider—had grasped the method of Release in just two days.
It left many Wu Clan members questioning their lives.
"If you can do it, you're welcome anytime," Kurosaki Rei said with a smile.
"First, learn what I taught you."
He'd spent a lot of time sparring with Raian these past few days—almost daily.
Although their first meeting had ended with Kurosaki Rei utterly crushing Raian, that didn't mean Raian was weak.
It was just that at this point in time, Raian was still young—an impulsive, bloodthirsty hothead. If this were Raian four or five years later, Kurosaki Rei wouldn't have won so easily.
Kurosaki Rei clearly remembered that in the later stages of the original story, Raian was one of the beings closest to becoming a "sage" in this world.
Raian's talent was absolutely top-tier. Whether in stats or technique, he had no inherent shortcomings.
What he lacked was simply—
A good beating.
Yes. This was what Wu Hui Li'ang was most satisfied with about Kurosaki Rei.
These past few days, Kurosaki Rei had been "educating" Raian nonstop, teaching this so-called demon what it meant to have someone stronger above him.
Since Wu Hui Li'ang had grown old, no one in the Wu Clan had been able to defeat Raian anymore. As a result, Raian's "evolution" had stagnated.
"Hah? Who do you think I am?! Give me a few more days and I'll learn it, then I'll kill you!"
Raian snapped as usual.
Yet after spending these days together, it was clear Raian actually had a bit of a tsundere side.
He always talked about killing Kurosaki Rei, but it was just bluster. Deep down, he had probably already acknowledged him.
"Raian, remember this," Kurosaki Rei said seriously.
"Power without conviction is just violence—it isn't martial arts. When you can turn your power into 'martial', then come challenge me again."
"It's not your place to lecture me! So damn noisy—I'm going to train more!"
Raian stormed off angrily, charging back into the training ground.
Watching Raian's back, Kurosaki Rei's expression grew heavy.
He thought—if Tokita Ohma were still alive, he would probably have become friends with Raian here in Wu Village.
But the "protagonist" was dead.
And with his death, a monstrous wave had been set in motion.
Kurosaki Rei glanced at the messages in the public channel.
He felt that it was time for him to move.
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